Progressivism’s critics included some of the most experienced and brilliant American leaders of their day. In this sterling collection, first-rate scholars bring their perspectives to life and explore the roots, meaning and impact of their ideas. Like or hate these critics, understanding them greatly enriches our knowledge of one of the great reform periods in American history—and gives us ... Read moremore insight into American politics today.
David B. Robertson, Professor of Political Science, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA
Lonce H. Bailey and Jerome M. Mileur have done an outstanding job in describing how Progressives formed a Second American Republic. Their study captures the major issue of our time–how much power should be vested in the people vs. the importance of mediating institutions. It is the decline of the latter that has shaped much of our present-day politics and should worry all of us.
John Kenneth White, Professor of Politics, Catholic University of America, USA
Bailey and Mileur have recruited a learned and engaging cast of scholars who shed new light on the struggle for America’s constitutional soul at the dawn of the 20th century. Recapturing the most thoughtful critics of Progressive Democracy, this volume offers a compelling portrait of alternative visions of modern America. Although the defenders of the constitutional sobriety, political parties, and social democracy failed to thwart Progressivism’s advance, their prescient critique of plebiscitary politics and administrative aggrandizement resonate powerfully in our own political time. The authors’ well written and probing essays on America’s “second founding” will appeal both to scholars and those outside of the academy who seek a deeper understanding of the causes of America’s present discontents.
Sidney M. Milkis, White Burkett Miller Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, USA
In Defense of the Founders Republic is a timely book and should be read by all who want to understand the prevailing problems of governance in Washington and state capitols across the nation. This volume re-introduces us to a vibrant cast of intellectual and political leaders who warned a century ago against applying untested reforms to remake the American republic from its foundational roots. By re-discovering the arguments of the original critics of Progressivism—critics who ranged from conservatives to socialists—we begin to understand why America’s representative institutions do not seem capable of meeting the challenges of our times.
Ray La Raja, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
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